Lena's Story
by ScottishLaura
Summary: The story of Lena, Ravens apprentice at H.I.V.E.
1. The Arrival

I arrived at H.I.V.E. in a normal fashion, if that's what a secret military airship could be called. We touched down in the hangar bay, the pilot carefully watching his tail. The crew on the ground scurried around like ants, and I pulled my earphones from my ear. I turned my old, run down mp3 player off, winding the frayed earphones around it, and then I shoved it into my pocket. I undid my seatbelt and stood up, stretching my stiff and cramped muscles. I tentatively took a few steps around the cabin before taking a deep breath and I stepped off the ship, swinging my satchel over my shoulder at the same time. I walked down the landing bay, and after I walked a few metres across the hangar bay, I froze. Something just didn't feel right. I looked around me quickly, and I noticed a shadow a fair way off, behind me and to my right. I didn't stop turning, I continue the movement smoothly to remain inconspicuous. I began to walk forwards again, and as I walked towards the massive doors, they began to rumble open. A tall man walked through the door, his movement smooth and fluid. He made his way over to me and introduced himself.

"Lena, my name is Doctor Nero, and I am the headmaster of this school." I nodded.  
"Have you met Raven yet?" He asked tilting his head slightly to the side, a hint of a smile on his lips.

"Not officially, no. But I noticed her hiding in the shadows near the Shroud when I landed." Doctor Nero grinned.

"Impressive," he looked up and called out to the shadows in question.

"Raven, come here please." A few moments passed and then Raven appeared from thin air next to Doctor Nero.

"Lena, this is Raven. Raven, Lena." I smiled shyly, and Raven nodded her head to the side in acknowledgement. She looked up at Doctor Nero and spoke.

"We should get going. There's a lot to be done." Doctor Nero nodded.

"That's fine, but Raven, remember, meeting in my office at 2100." She nodded and spun on her heel, walking towards the massive doors that Doctor Nero had come in through. After a moment, she realized I wasn't following her and she looked over her shoulder and gestured for me to follow. I nodded, and quickly walked towards her. We walked through the winding corridors of H.I.V.E. that were now to become my home. I memorized the route as we walked, not really knowing where we were actually going. Suddenly, Raven abruptly stopped and turned to what I assumed was another wall, but in fact, it was a well-disguised door ingrained into the rock wall. Raven put her palm up to a scanner that briefly flashed, and then the door slid open. She stepped inside, and I followed suit. Inside, I was greeted by a fairly small space. Within it was two beds, a small table, a short metal wardrobe and another doorway. Raven spoke again.

"This is to be your quarters. The bathroom is there," she pointed to the other door. "And your bed is there." She gestured to the bed on the right hand side of the room. I nodded.

She turned and walked towards the doorway.

"I have to go and sort something out, but; I will be back soon, so for now, unpack and get comfortable." I nodded and she swiftly left the room. I sat down on the bed, which was surprisingly comfortable, and I dumped my satchel next to me. There wasn't really that much in there, I had very few possessions. I opened my bag and peered inside. All I had was a small photo, a couple of books and a watch. I placed the books on the table and the photo went with them. I grabbed my watch and strapped it to my wrist. I shoved the empty satchel under the bed and I sighed. I remembered the mp3 player that was in my pocket and I put it next to the books. I sighed. Now that that was done, I had to wait. The bed was starting to feel even more comfortable, and my energy levels were pretty low, the ride from Russia to wherever I was now had taken a fair bit out of me. I decided to lie down and have a quick sleep. I swung my legs onto the bed, and rolled onto my side, then I closed my eyes, falling asleep almost immediately. I woke at a faint sliding noise from nearby, and I was immediately alert. I rolled of the bed, onto my feet, my arms already into a defensive position, my eyes looking around for the source of the noise. I saw Raven standing in the doorway, arms folded, smiling slightly.

"Good sleep?" I shrugged.

"Long flight." She nodded.

"I know the feeling. Now come on, we have some things we need to organize." I stood up, and followed Raven out of the room.


	2. The Blackbox, The Unseen

"Good sleep?" I shrugged.

"Long flight." She nodded.

"I know the feeling. Now come on, we have some things we need to organize." I stood up, and followed Raven out of the room. We walked past quite a few rooms, none of which had labels on them, so I had no idea what they were for. We arrived at the end of a corridor and Raven reached for the door handle, pulling the door open. Inside was a man with frizzy, erratic hair, bending over a metal desk at the far side of the room. Raven called out to him.

"Professor Pike?" He looked up, and swung around wildly.

"Yes? Who is it?" He looked around and saw Raven standing in the centre of the room, me slightly back.  
"Ah, yes, Raven." Raven nodded. "And you must be Lena?" I nodded.

"Well, here it is." He hurried to his desk and picked up a small black box. He walked back and passed it to Raven who pocketed it and turned to leave.

"Thanks Professor." He was already back at his desk and mumbling something unintelligible, sounding almost like binary. Raven led me along another corridor, and through more and more until we arrived back at our quarters. Raven scanned her palm again and we walked in. She gestured that I sit down, and I complied. She then passed the box she had received from Professor Pike to me and began explaining it.

"This is your black box. It does pretty much everything needed. It gives you direct contact to H.I.V. and other students and staff as well as serving as your timetable and numerous other things. It has a tracking device in it, and it is requirement that you take it with you _everywhere_." I nodded.

"Alright." Raven smiled.

"Good. Now, training will begin tomorrow at 9 in room 17, if you have any trouble getting there, ask H.I.V. for directions." I nodded again. "Oh, and one more thing." She walked towards me, and knelt on the ground in front of me. Though we were both under average height, compared to me, she was actually quite tall, even when I was sitting on my bed.

"You are not to be seen by anyone unless i tell you. You must stay hidden for both your safety, and for other reasons I'm unable to disclose at the moment." I frowned, but nodded. She stood up and walked to the doorway.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to get to. You should get some sleep. You look tired." I nodded and Raven left the room. I relaxed a little, slouching my shoulders, letting by back slump down. I didn't just look tired; I felt it too. I immediately put my head on the pillow, closed my eyes, and fell asleep.


	3. And So It Begins

I didn't know how long I slept for, all I did know was that there was a loud beeping sound and it was starting to get on my nerves. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and looking for the sound. I looked to the table and noticed my blackbox vibrating slightly. I picked it up and flipped it open. There was an alarm screen, so I assumed it was time for me to get up. I stood up, the blood rushing to my feet, and I walked to the bathroom. I turned the tap on and held my hands under it, and then I splashed the cool water over my face. I felt good, and it helped to wake me up slightly. I turned the tap off, and then looked around for a towel. I found one and I wiped my face dry. I walked back through the sleeping area and noticed the wardrobe door ajar. It had a note attached to it, so I went over to it and read it. It said,

"Lena, this is your body armour, tailored especially to fit you. Please put it on before you come to training." I rolled the note into a ball and threw it in the bin, then pulled the leather body armour on. It was comfy. There were a pair of boots too so I assumed I was to put them on. When I was done, I called H.I.V. and asked him for the directions to Room 17. I memorized them and then flipped it shut, heading to Room 17. I arrived there about 5 minutes early, and I tried to open the door. It was locked. I leant against a wall in the shadows and I waited. Raven appeared with about 30 seconds to spare and she led me inside. I didn't know what we were doing, so I was shocked when she suddenly aimed a punch to my jaw. I saw it coming at the last second, and I ducked, and then swung a quick kick at her shins in self-defence. It was a pointless attempt, she had already stepped back and by the time I stood up, she was attacking again. I could do nothing but block her attacks with my arms, they were coming at me with blinding speed. She swung again at my jaw and I blocked it, then I aimed another kick, at her stomach this time. I missed again, now unable to regain my balance in time, and Raven aimed a sharp kick to my ribs. I ended up sprawled on the floor, panting. I saw Raven swing her foot down to kick me in the ribs again, so I rolled and stood up in one movement, then prepared myself to fight. At that moment though, she stepped back, and called out.

"Nice job Lena. Is that the first actual fight you've been in?" I nodded. I was just too tired to speak. She walked over to me.

"To start with, we need to work on your balance, and your fitness." I just nodded again. She walked to the door and gestured that I follow. I quickly walked over to the door and closed it behind me. Raven led me through long corridors until we reached a lone room. From the distance from last door, I figured that it was pretty big. Raven scanned her palm, and the door slid open. Inside was a training centre. There was a running track, and lots of other exercise-y looking things. She led me in.

"OK, Lena, how far can you run?" I shrugged.

"I'm not really sure." She smiled evilly.

"Lets find out then shall we?" I nodded.

"This track is 100 metres long, I want you to run as many as you can. When you stop, then you can have a two minute break then do it again." I nodded again. "But, if you stop before you have done 10 laps, there'll be a punishment." I nodded. "GO!" she barked. I set off, not running fast, but keeping my breathing steady. I did about 5 laps easily, then I started to get tired. I took a few deep breaths, and kept my rhythm steady. Right, left, breathe in, right, left, breathe out. I passed another few laps like this, not actually knowing how many laps I had done. When I was well and truly exhausted, I forced myself to run one more lap and then I finally stopped, panting. Raven just nodded.

"Keep walking or you'll get stiff. You ran 17 laps, not bad. You've now got a minute and a half until you aim to get 18 laps." I nodded and continued walking around slowly and taking deep breaths. After a minute, Raven called out. "Actually, I changed my mind. I want you to sprint as many laps as you can." Again I nodded heading towards the start line.

"GO!"

I set off, swinging my arms hard and pushing off with each leg hard. I got a good start and picked up a good speed, but still I focused on my rhythm. Right, left, right, left, breathe in, right, left, right, left, breathe out. I continued this rhythm, not losing track of it, and I kept running. I was tired though, so my breathing got heavy and I had to keep reminding myself to take deep breaths, not short ones. In through the nose, out through the mouth. I had no idea how many laps I had done, but I doubted I had done less then ten. I quickly checked my watch, I had been sprinting for 6 minutes and I averaged 100 metres in 15 seconds. With that calculation, I had done a few more then twenty laps, so I sprinted one more, surprised at how easy it was. I was going to stop, but I decided to keep going. I ended up running another few laps before finally stopping. I fell to the floor, absolutely exhausted. Raven called out that I stand up, and so I walked around in circles, tired and lacking oxygen. Raven didn't say anything else; she just waited for me to recover. When I was able to breathe easier, she started talking.

"Very well done Lena. You sprinted 29 laps which is very good." I nodded and smiled.

"Thanks."

"But just remember, sometimes after you have been running for a long time, you need to fight straight after." I nodded and she continued. "But you still did amazingly well." I smiled again, and Raven headed out of the room. I followed, and we ended up back in our quarters. I didn't realise that it was 6:30 and so when Raven sat on her bed and closed her eyes briefly; I was confused. I looked down at my watch and saw the time, and then I realised that I was actually really tired as well. I sunk onto my bed, taking my boots off, then I realised that I had to actually get up to put them away. I walked over to the wardrobe and put them away, and then I went straight back to my bed. I relaxed onto the pillow and started to fall asleep. I had been still for quite a few minutes when I was disturbed by the door sliding open. I kept my eyes shut, pretending to be asleep. I heard Raven and another person having a muted argument in the far corner of the room, and then it stopped. In pretending to be asleep, I let my arm slide off the edge of the bed. I heard footsteps, and someone gently put my arm back onto the bed. I squirmed a little, hoping I looked asleep. The footsteps sounded again, and then the argument followed. As hard as I tried, I couldn't hear what they were saying though, so I gave up, and I tried to get to sleep. I must have dropped off easily because I don't remember the other person leaving the room. Either way, I woke up and stretched, then checked the time. I had got a solid 10 hours of sleep, so I was feeling refreshed. Raven was already gone, and I sighed. I began wondering what kind of beating was going to be in store for training that day.


	4. Just The Beginning

_**A/N: Yes, I know this is short, but I couldn't find a suitable place to cut it off without taking up like, 20 extra pages, so I'll go edit that, and then update tomorrow or the day after…possibly not tomorrow because I have to go to the orthodontist, then the doctor to check up on my ADD, and make sure its not turning to ADHD…but anyway, enjoy this short chapter, and please keep reviewing, it really makes my day!!**_

The rest of the week continued in a similar way, the weeks then turning to months. By the end of what seemed forever, I was really fit, I could sprint about 100 laps easily, and still have plenty of energy to fight, and, I was even getting better at fighting. The most exciting part of those first few months was when Raven gave me my katana's. They were slightly smaller then hers, and balanced differently, but they worked for me. She showed me how to wear the sheaths so they could get in and out easily. I learned how to fight with them, and how to use them. Soon, I was ready to have harder training.

One day, just before she left for a meeting with Doctor Nero, Raven said to me,

"Lena, we have a training exercise today, so get your katana's, and meet me in 20 minutes outside the track room. I nodded, and Raven disappeared. When we arrived there, she said to me,

"The idea of this is to get the prisoners to the location, and back in a certain time. There will be people around, they're not allowed to see you. If you get seen by anyone, or in some way fail to follow an order, that will count as a fail, and you will get a punishment. And trust me, it won't be nice." I nodded, taking in all the instructions. "The other thing, I have a detention to run, so we must be back here before period 5 begins. If you fail to get back here on time, that will also count as a fail." I nodded and we begun. I followed Raven down the long winding corridor, matching her movements, shadowing her nearly. A bunch of students from the Henchmen stream walked noisily down the corridor, and Raven held out her fist to signal for us to stop. When they had rounded the corner, we began running. We headed towards the landing pad. The doors were jammed, but together, we pulled them open. Just as we closed them behind us, a technician looked over at the door. Raven dived behind a barrel near the door, and I did the same, but to the other side. When the technician looked away, we advanced, slowly and quietly. Raven ducked away to one side, and pointed towards the nearest Shroud.  
"Engage the Thermoputic camouflage and get ready to get that thing out of here. I'll take care of the engineer." I nodded and sprinted stealthily towards the Shroud. The door was down, so I ran up it, and into the cockpit. The pilot was asleep, so I bound his wrists and ankles and I shoved him neatly into a storage compartment. I had no trouble working the Shrouds controls, I hit the button that engaged the camouflage, and hurriedly ran towards the access ramp. Raven was running towards me, so I climbed the ladder to the cockpit and started up the engines. The Shroud lifted off, just as Raven pulled the door closed behind her. We switched places and Raven drove the Shroud while I watched over the prisoners. We sped over the empty ocean until suddenly, a submarine surfaced. Raven took the Shroud down and onto the landing deck for a safe landing. I prodded the prisoners with my katana,

"Get up" I said in the sharpest voice I could muster. The prisoners complied.  
I led them to the ships captain who was strangely familiar, although I couldn't put my finger on it. He told his men to get the prisoners into the sub. He muttered a few words that I couldn't hear to Raven, and she nodded. She spun, and then we were running again. We were back on the Shroud, and racing to the school to reach there before 5th period.


	5. Authors Note

**Hey guys. Sorry I haven't updated in a while, I've been struggling with my ADHD, and as a result of it, I managed to fail 3 of my 4 exams, and haven't had much inspiration lately. I'm really, really sorry for anyone that's been waiting for any updates, and I promise I'll try and update more as soon as I can, but don't hold it to me if it takes a while, and it's short… Sorry…**

**-ScottishLaura**


	6. The Fight, The Scar, The Mystery

While Raven and I were running back to get to the 5th period detention room, I noticed something in the shadows, following us. I kept running, but after we rounded the next corner, I stopped, pulled my katanas out and gripped them. I froze, in the shadows, and waited for the mysterious follower to round the corner. The person had slowed down, I thought to myself, but I stayed hidden. Suddenly, a tallish person lurched around the corner with a shuriken in their fingers. They ran straight past me and I followed stealthily in the shadows. The person caught up with Raven, and I took my chance. I crept up to the person, who I thought was a girl, because their hair was long and pulled back. I stood behind them. I heard Raven say  
"Behind you" and then suddenly, the follower spun and aimed a karate chop at my head. I ducked, and switched sides of my katana's so that I was fighting with the blunt edge, and I stood straight again. I thrust my blade at the person, but they ducked. I swung my wrist down and hit the person hard in the back with the blunt edge of the sword. I heard an "oof!" as the wind was knocked out of them, and they collapsed, panting on the floor, unmoving. I looked up at Raven, but she was gone. I checked my watch. 5th period, dammit. I rolled the person onto their back, and examined their face. Not bad I thought. I had just knocked Wing Fanchu out. I pulled him up, and supported him on my shoulders, and literally dragged him to the room that the detention was being held in.  
I walked in, and Raven looked up, but didn't say anything. At that point, Wing was waking up, so I helped him over to a chair in the room and then I walked back into the shadows behind Raven to wait for any instructions. Raven walked over to Wing and prodded him with her foot.

"Uuuuhhhh" He groaned and got up slowly.

"Get to class Wing. I'll see you at 4:00 for training." She instructed. I frowned as I realised she was teaching another person too.

"Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy." She spoke to me as I hid in the shadows. I went rigid. "A clean fight is what I want. Wing could have won that fight if not for him hesitating." With that said she walked out of the room

"Practice at 4:00 with Wing. A minute late and it's conditioning for both of you." I nodded, and walked out of the room. I frowned to myself. I wondered the corridors of HIVE until I knew the bell would be going to end 5th period and start 6th period. I jogged quickly back to my quarters and sat down on the edge of my bed. I pulled my boots off and lay down. I set my black box to wake me up at 3:30, and I fell asleep.

When I was asleep, I didn't dream. I never did. So, when I woke again, I was refreshed and ready for training. I went to the bathroom and washed my face with cold water. I stretched and got my boots. I put them back on, and with a slow pace, I set off for training. I was expecting another surprise attack, so I crept a fair distance when I was close to the training room. Fortunately, because I was early, no one was there. But then again, Raven was good, even better then Wing and me put together. I walked into the room, watching for any sign of movement in the shadows, or anything that had been disturbed while hiding. There was nothing, so I went back to the center of the room and waited. I heard a footstep slightly to my right, but I didn't make any sign that I had heard it; I just stood as still as i could and waited for the person to come to me. So as i waited in the middle of the room, waiting for the stranger to make another noise that would alert me to where they were, I sensed a movement behind me, and a slight sound of metal sliding to one side of me. I opened my eyes, and spun to the sound behind me, drawing my katanas simultaneously. They were still blunt, I had no reason to believe that the people in the room wanted to seriously injure me, probably only harm me, even then, only slightly. So I spun one katana in each hand, and each towards the direction of either noise. I ducked under a shuriken and swung on my hand, aiming for the nearest assailants' feet. I knocked the feet from under them, not surprised to see Wing, once again grounded by my attack. I stood up, and turned towards a disturbance in my peripheral vision. I saw a face that disappeared back into the shadows before I could be sure I had seen it.

"Raven" I muttered to myself. I should have known. Suddenly, I felt a slight pressure on my back, and Raven spoke in an extremely evil voice,  
"Drop the swords, and put your hands on your head." I dropped the swords and stuck my hands onto of my head, but, the moment I did, I saw Wing scramble up onto his feet and make a lunge for the nearest katana. He grabbed it and stood halfway up, but before he got the chance to fully stand up, Raven swung one of her katanas down and knocked Wing down, for the third time in one day. I was shoved to the ground next to Wing, and as I tried to pull my head up, I was awarded for my efforts a sharp blow to my head. I collapsed again, breathing heavily and waited for Raven to offer any advice. A moment later though, the pressure on my back was gone, and i heard a nearly silent pair of footsteps running out of the room and into the hallway. Wing stood up, intending to follow her, but before he did, he offered me a hand and pulled me up. I scooped up my katanas, re-sheathed them and ran after Wing and Raven. We rounded the corner and caught up to Raven. I caught up to Raven first and Wing went around behind her. We had her cornered. I aimed a kick at Raven, but she knew where it was aimed. She grabbed my foot and threw me across the room, using my momentum against me. I stood up immediately, but Raven was quicker and she aimed a kick at my chest. I couldn't get out of the way, so her foot landed right in the middle of my chest. I staggered back and fell on the floor, my head slamming hard into the solid rock wall.

"No pain, no gain." She commented as leant forward to my knees, and then back up onto my feet. She turned to Wing and aimed a kick to his stomach, and he collapsed on both knees, gasping. Raven pulled her katana's out from her sheaths and smiled evilly. Wing held back due to the fact that he had no swords and was taken out by Raven's kick. I went over to her and fought, we were now just graceful blurs as we fought, assassin v assassin. I spotted an opening and I was about to swing my katana down and hit her, but I didn't see Raven swing her leg at the back of my knees. I lost my balance and fell on my back, gasping.

"Balance is what you need to work on. Your skills are perfect, but you need to do more practice." She turned to Wing. "Mr. Fanchu. Too many times have you failed. Extra practice with me." She pulled him to his feet. I nodded, and staggered out of the room, breathing heavily, and clutching my chest. I rounded the corner only to be seen by a few of the Alpha stream students, probably looking for Wing. I moaned, but ducked back into the training room, only then discovering that I was trapped. There was only one way out of the room, and that was where the Alpha students were. I was sorely tempted to let them see me, but i remembered Ravens instructions to me when I was taken in as her student.  
"You are not to be seen by anyone unless I tell you. You must stay hidden for both your safety, and for other reasons I'm unable to disclose at the moment." I stepped back into the shadows of the room near the door, and pulled my leather cloak on. I waited until the students had stepped past me, and then I stealthily walked through the door and into the hallway. This time, however, it was deserted. I had little energy left from my beating from Raven, so by the time I got to my shared quarters with Raven, her extra training with Wing was over, and I was still sore, battered and panting. I leant against the doorframe, and then mustered up the last few bits of energy i had left in me to stagger the last few steps to my bed. I just made it, then collapsed, panting on my bed. I didn't move even when Raven asked me if I was alright. I finally said something about 5 minutes later, when I could breathe,  
"I'm fine now...I guess." Raven nodded.  
"That's another lesson for you then. You need to learn your limits and work with them." I nodded, then moaned, and collapsed on my bed again. I collapsed on my bed, and only half heard what Raven was saying. I nearly tried to will myself to get up and clean the dried blood I found off my head, just a minor flesh wound, but by the time I had finished arguing with myself in my head, I was fresh out of energy and will power. I moaned again, and used my feet to get my boots of. I kicked them off the bed, and groaned. I didn't even have the energy to pull my covers over me. I ignored them, and pulled my coat off, dumping it on the floor near my head. I closed my eyes and willed myself to sleep. Once again, I didn't dream, but for once, when I woke up, I didn't really have much energy, though I was slightly less sore. I rolled over and looked at Raven's bed, but she was gone. It didn't surprise me; she was often gone in the morning for either training or for reasons she wouldn't say. I sat up surprised that I had my sheets covering me, because I didn't remember pulling over me before i went to sleep. My boots and coat were also put where I was supposed to leave them when i wasn't wearing them. I flipped open my blackbox and was greeted by H.I.V..  
"You have one message from Raven. Would you like me to open it for you?" I nodded.  
"Yes thanks H.I.V." i looked up and rubbed my eyes, clearing the sleep from them, and when i looked back down, Raven's face was on my screen.  
"Lena, when you wake up, I want you to meet me in Training Room 7, preferably before lessons start." The message cut off there. I looked at the time in the top corner of my blackbox.  
"Dammit" I muttered to myself. Lessons were literally 5 minutes away from starting. I yanked my boots on my feet, pulled my katana's onto my back and my coat over my shoulders. I picked up my black box, shoved it in my belt and sprinted. I was a couple of steps away from the training room when I saw another figure walk out. I flattened myself against the wall, hoping that I wouldn't get seen, but when I saw Wing, I relaxed, just a little. Wing saw me move slightly, and frowned, so when I detached myself from the shadows, it was no surprise that he took up a defensive stance. I held my hands up in a sign of peace, and smiled at him.  
"Feeling alright from yesterday?" he just nodded and walked off. I immediately forgot about it when I heard Raven call me.  
"Lena, do you feel like coming in anytime soon?" What a surprise. Raven knew I was at the door. I walked into the room, forgetting for a moment that I was probably going to be attacked again. Fortunately, after ducking under a kick aimed at my face, there were no more attacks.  
"I trust you had a good sleep then?" I chuckled briefly.  
"Yeah, best sleep of my life." Raven said nothing, but nodded her head to the side.  
"You're excused form morning training. Go back to your quarters, clean yourself up, check that cut on your head, and then come back to me after 1:00." I nodded and walked out of the room. I went back to my quarters and into the bathroom. I cleaned the side of head where I had a long curved cut. I looked at the side of my head in the mirror. There was dried blood spattered around my eye, and a long, thin cut that curved down the side of my head from just above my eyebrow to a few centimeters above my jaw. I cursed under my breath, and went to the cupboard on the opposite side of the room to get something to clean the blood off and prevent infection in the cut. When I was done, I cleaned up all the rubbish and dumped it in the bin and then walked back into the sleeping area. I took off my boots and placed them in the shoe rack near the door and pulled my coat off. I walked to the door, and hung it on the hook. I turned around and saw a figure sitting on Raven's bed.  
"Gah!" I looked closer at the figure. "Yeesh, Raven, you've got to stop doing that to me." She smiled, and then waved me over.  
"Let me look at that cut." I walked towards her. She held my chin in one hand while carefully running her fingers along it with her other hand.  
"Congratulations," she said with a hint of humor in her voice. "Your first scar." I sighed and rolled my eyes at her. She released my chin, and then continued talking.  
"I expect you to be ready for another training session this afternoon, and this time, don't bring your katana's." I nodded. "Now, you better get some rest, and be ready for training at 1:00. I have something I need to do, I trust you'll be OK until 1:00" I nodded.  
"Yup. I'll be fine." With that I stepped over to my bed, and sat on it. I swung my legs around, and pulled the sheets over my lower body. I set my blackbox to wake me up at 12:30, and with that, I closed my eyes and relaxed.


	7. Oh, The Drama Begins

My black box was beeping noisily by the time i stopped it. I looked at the time, and noticed that it was just past 12:30. I got up and stretched, then for the third time in one morning, went to the bathroom. I washed my face wincing as the water crept into the cut. I came back out and grabbed my boots, pulled them on, and then before i put my coat on, i undid the straps I always had on over my body armour to hold my katanas. I carefully put the in the safe under my bed, and locked them, and then grabbed my coat, walked out of the room and closed the door behind me. Most people were at lunch by this time of the day, so i walked in relative comfort, out of the shadows for once. I walked past numerous training rooms, all empty, except one. I looked inside quickly and saw Wing practising with his bow and arrow. I quickly ducked past the room, and walked into the next one. Training Room 7. Raven was already there, no big surprise, and she had removed her coat and hung it by the door, on one of the available hooks. I took that as a sign to remove mine, and i placed it, hanging, a lot smaller then Ravens, on the second hook. I walked over to where Raven was standing, and the second she turned around she was attacking. Not with her katanas that were discarded on the floor about 20 metres away, but with her arms and legs. I blocked her attack with my arm, holding it up against her swinging arm, blocking her attack, but leaving myself open for another kick to my ribs. I coughed and spluttered, keeping my center of gravity low just incase Raven tried for another attack.  
"Today, we're working on both your balance and speed..."

I aimed a punch at her ribs, but she rolled with it and deflected it.

"Balance not force, please," she noted and quickly took five steps back. Without further hesitation, I aimed a hook kick at her head. She dodged it though, and I had to recover quickly to avoid falling over. She launched herself in the air, her leg aiming for my head, and as I was about to block it and throw her to the ground, she changed it, and her kick changed to a sweep kick aimed at my feet. I saw her suddenly kick out at my shoulder and I axe kicked, hitting her hard in the stomach. She took a step back and smiled.

"Nice job, you did what I told you to do." I smiled proudly and that's when she attacked. She did a simple move, but I was distracted. She punched me hard in the stomach, and I sunk to one knee, gasping for breath.

"It's simple moves like that you need to watch out for. Keep alert, day and night. Even if you have deflected an attacker, they will get back up and try again. You did amazingly well though." She lifted her arm and showed me where a bruise was forming on her ribs from my axe kick. I looked down and opened my mouth to say something, and then I looked up. Raven was gone. I walked out of the training room and hung my head. I was getting too caught up in my emotions.  
"Lena!" I spun around. Wing was standing in the doorway smiling. I just stood there as Wing walked straight past me into the room. What was he doing? Raven had already left.  
"Wing." I called out to him. He didn't respond. I quickly yanked the door open and looked inside. There was no-one there. I saw my coat hanging on the peg, and i grabbed it off, and pulled it on. I slunk out from the room again, and walked along the busy corridor, hiding in the shadows. Once or twice, I thought someone had seen me, but by the time they had a chance to look again, i was gone. I kept this up until I got back to my quarters, but this time Raven wasn't there. I needed to talk. I was contemplating walking around until I found her, but I knew it was next to impossible to find Raven unless she wanted to be found. I sighed, and walked into the bathroom. I quickly had a warm shower to relieve the muscle pain, and then pulled my clean body amour on. I walked out of the bathroom and started thinking about what I had done wrong. I had attacked too hard, and that threw me off balance. I got distracted. I was too busy watching for sneaky attacks, and I left too much of the rest of my body easy to get to with obvious ones. I sighed again. I was about to get up and go for a run for something to do when my black box beeped. I grabbed it and flipped it open, and was greeted by Raven on the screen.  
"Lena, I need you to meet me in Doctor Nero's office immediately." I nodded and flipped my black box closed. I shoved it in the pouch that I had on my belt and grabbed my coat of the door. I sprinted through the shadows and up to Nero's office.

I walked up to the door, and knocked. There was no reply. I pushed the door, but it still wouldn't open. I shoved my shoulder against the door and still it didn't budge. I gave it one last try. I kicked as hard as I could without breaking my foot, and it slammed into the door, just underneath the handle. The door moved slightly so I went back to shoving. After three shoves, I managed to get the door open just enough that I could slip through. I looked around the room I was in, it was like a reception area, but there was no receptionist. I scanned my surroundings, but there was nothing that looked out of place, so I decided that it was safe to press on. I walked slowly, half crept, half walked to the door on the other side of the room. I hoped that it was open this time. I knocked again, and again, there was no reply. I twisted the door handle, and thankfully, the door opened. I walked in slowly, once again scanning my surroundings and looking for Raven. I looked over to the far corner of the room, and saw Raven huddled over and looking rather small, and for the first time I could remember, scared. Doctor Nero was also in the corner, but he was either: unconscious, dead, or somehow sleeping. I was about to cross the room to see if they were alright, but my training kicked in. I stopped and looked around, checking for signs of disturbances, booby traps or hurried entry. I checked my surroundings for a good few minutes before slowly crossing the room. I checked Doctor Nero first; he still had a pulse, so I left him as he was. I took a step over to Raven, and she too was fine. I checked her for any injuries or concussion, but she didn't have any obvious ailments. I walked over to the desk centered at the back of the room, which had Raven's twin katanas on it. I picked them up and quickly crossed the room. I handed them to her and asked:  
"Who did this? Where are they now?"…

Raven said nothing, but she raised a shaky arm and pointed towards the other side of the room.

"You stay here and watch Doctor Nero. OK?" she nodded, and I crossed the room, drawing my katanas and turning them to the sharp edge at the same time. I slowed down as I got nearer to the attacker, but I still didn't fully stop. I decided that I would be better off not killing the person, just wounding them so they could be questioned later. I approached the person warily. They had a mask on, and they were tall, and looked really strong. I went to attack, but I ducked instinctively as a foot came flying towards my head. I stood up again, re gained a reasonably low center of gravity and attacked. I was a little slow though, and the person aimed a kick at my right hand, my preferred hand, and knocked the sword out of it. The force used was fairly major, and so I felt the bones in my hand crunch. I gritted my teeth and ignored the pain as best I could. I ducked another time as the person launched a foot at me. As I ducked, I noticed the person's fist arcing around aiming at my ribs, the ones that had been bruised badly yesterday. I twisted avoiding the fist and foot and at the same time, pushed myself off the floor with my hands, sideways, aiming for the persons face. I felt the person go limp as I hit them full force with both my feet, and when I heard a familiar sounding "oof!" I realized that this was all a set up. Nero wasn't really unconscious, Raven wasn't scared and the person I was fighting was Wing. I turned around to look at Raven, my left sword pointing at Wing, and I jumped when I saw Raven right in front of me. I was too busy trying to work out what was going on, that I forgot about Wing. To his credit, I got a hard kick in the back, and next thing I knew, I was lying face down on the floor, and I had an aching and bleeding nose. I got up and was about to take my temper out on Wing and throw a punch at his face when I remembered something Raven had told me.

"Never attack out of rage, but out of measured reasoning." I slowly pulled my hand down and turned to face Raven again. I faced Raven and attempted to stem the blood flow from my nose with my shoulder. That didn't work very well, so I pinched the bridge of my nose with my left hand and shook Wing's hand with my right. Raven began talking, but for some reason, i couldn't hear what she was saying. I shook my head to clear it, but then everything went all fuzzy, and I couldn't think or see straight. I started to feel really dizzy, like after you have been spinning in circles for a long time, and I couldn't keep my balance. I blinked a few more times and tried to fight gravity, but I lost the fight and collapsed on the ground. I knew I should get up, but I couldn't. All I could see was a pool of blood welling up around me, and then everything went black.

I woke up on a hard, but comfortable bed, lying on my side. I tried to pull myself up, but I was either being restrained or I was way too tired and weak to support myself. I gave up and resigned myself to lying comfortably. I saw a slight movement in the corner of my eye, but I couldn't focus on it until it was crouched down in front of me. It was Raven. I groaned as she leant over towards me. She rested her hand gently on my forehead, probably checking my temperature.

I moaned again and blinked a few times. I fully opened my eyes and saw that they were in line with Raven's. Her eyes were concerned, but mine were probably bloodshot, and droopy. I opened my mouth to ask a question, but before I could say anything, she had gently pushed my head back down onto my pillow. I let Raven put my head back on the pillow, and I groaned again. I took a deep breath and asked,  
"How long was I out?" Raven sighed,  
"Just a couple of days. How're you feeling now?" I chuckled briefly, but immediately wished I hadn't  
"Like someone who got into a fight with a Martial Arts specialist, and came off second best."  
"Ah, yeah. Well, that's probably my fault. I told Wing to take any opportunity and not to back down."  
"Hmmm, well, it looks like I'll be more careful when fighting Wing now. In other words, using a sharp blade, not the blunt one." Raven smiled.  
"Yeah. Sorry about that." I nodded slightly.  
"You're forgiven. So what actually happened? Why did I pass out like that?" Raven shrugged.  
"We don't know. It could have been from a combination of lack of sleep and loss of blood, or it could have just been a moment like that." I nodded.  
"Is Wing OK?" Raven nodded.  
"Fine." she said. "More then fine actually. He's pleased that he finally got you on the floor, although he's a little upset that you passed out after that. How's your hand by the way?"  
"Huh? Oh yeah!" I had forgotten about my hand. I tried it out, testing each finger, then slowly clenching it into a fist. "It feels fine to me." Raven stretched her hand out to me and I opened my hand. She tested each of my knuckles, probably looking for a break or something. When she was satisfied she let my hand go, and I pulled my arm back to my side.

I placed my hand next to me, the way it had been when I woke up, and then sighed. I heard a beeping noise somewhere to my left and turned to see what it was. Raven jumped up from the kneeling position she was in, and scooped her blackbox up from her bed. She flipped it open, and listened to a brief message.  
"Yeah, she's OK, she's just woken up. No broken bones as far as I can tell right now. No. OK. Yep, I'll let her know. Bye." She snapped her blackbox closed and came back over to the side of my bed.  
"That was Wing," she said as she knelt down. "He wanted to know if you were OK, and he said sorry about the nose and the shove in the back." I smiled, careful not to laugh this time.  
"Tell him that's OK, and it was a good shot, so no harm, no foul. Well, there was harm, but that's not the point." I accidentally laughed and then went into a coughing fit. Raven looked concerned until I recovered and took a deep breath. I sunk back down under my covers and fell silent.  
"Are you sure you're OK?" I nodded.  
"Yeah. Just sore ribs." Raven nodded, and got up off the floor, still looking concerned.  
"I have to go and see Doctor Nero, I'll be back within and hour though. OK?" i just nodded. "Try and get some more rest. I expect you to be ready to train again in a few days." once again, I nodded, then sighed again as Raven stalked out of the room.

Eugh, more rest...I think it has got to be a record, I've never been out of anything for more then a few hours, one day, tops. I rolled onto my back, and groaned. I was stiff from lying still for so long, so I rolled onto my side, and swung my feet onto the floor. I grunted as I nearly lost my balance, but recovered and then straightened up. I took an unsure step, and when I didn't fall, I took another one. I raised my arms above my head, and stretched. I didn't feel anything until I put my arms back down. A muscle in my back twitched and I winced as it pulled on my sore ribs. I walked into the bathroom, one hand grabbing something to support me, and I looked at myself in the mirror. My shoulder length black hair was pulled out of its usual tight ponytail, and it was sticking out in some random tufts. I grabbed my hairbrush from the overhead cupboard and yanked it through my hair a few times, then grabbed a hair lacky and pulled it back. I turned the tap on and let the cold water fall onto my hands. I cupped my hands and splashed the water onto my face, then wiped the sleep off. I sighed again, and rubbed my bright green eyes. I walked back into the sleeping area and grabbed my black box.  
"H.I.V., is there anyone in pool area 4?" HIVE mind didn't respond for a minute.  
"According to my security logs, there is no one around, all students and teachers are at the full school assembly." I nodded.  
"OK, thank you." I snapped the lid of my Blackbox closed and I grabbed a towel and a pair of bathers. I walked out of my quarters and down a long corridor to the swimming pool. I got changed out of my leather combat gear and into the bathers. I opened a locker and put my stuff inside, then closed it, scanning my hand as I left so only I could access it again. I grabbed the towel off the bench and walked back out to the pool area. I walked down the ladder and into the cool water. I dived under the water and let it relax my sore, stiff muscles. I swum a few laps easily, then as I neared the end of the lap, and prepared to turn off the wall, a searing pain burnt through my back. I let out an involuntary groan underwater, and pushed off the bottom of the pool and took a deep breath. I pulled my hand up to the sore muscle and rubbed it. The pain was gone, so I dived down again, and continued swimming. I swum another 17 laps, finishing off the kilometer I was aiming for. I got out of the pool and dried myself down. I changed again and walked back to my quarters. I walked in and saw Raven sitting on her bed looking concerned and annoyed.  
"I thought I told you to rest."  
"I-" She cut me off with a menacing look.  
"Go and have a shower and then you're resting for the rest of the day."  
"But-" She raised an eyebrow at me.  
"If I have to, I'll give HIVEmind orders not to let anyone in or out of this room except for me. I won't do that if you promise me you're going to rest." I sighed.  
"Fine." Raven smiled a bone chilling smile.  
"You better keep that promise." I nodded. "Now rest. You seem well enough to resume training again tomorrow." I nodded and as Raven walked towards the exit, I walked towards the bathroom. I had a long warm shower and washed the chlorine out of my hair. When I was done, I sat back down on my bed and swung my feet onto my bed and pulled the covers over me. Now that I had had a swim, I was slightly more tired then I was before, and I yawned so I decided that it was time to sleep. I put my head down on the pillow and closed my eyes. I fell asleep easily, and like the rest of the time, I didn't dream.

I woke up, refreshed, and admittedly less sore as well. I pulled my arms above my head and stretched. There was no pain, just a bit of stiffness. I rolled over to my side and tried to see the clock that Raven always kept on her bedside table. I blinked a few times, then my eyes finally focused on the clock. It was 2:30 in the morning. I groaned, but mutedly, careful not to wake up Raven. I looked at Raven and saw that she was asleep. I closed my eyes, rubbed them and then re-opened them. I jumped,  
"AH!" I turned to face Raven. "Yeesh, Raven, you've got to stop doing that to me, its really freaking me out!" She smiled.  
"So you're feeling better then?" I chuckled.  
"Mostly, except I'm still freaking out about your sudden change from being asleep to awake in the space of about 5 seconds." She smiled again.  
"Yes, it's a skill." I nodded,  
"Really, I never would have known." I said sarcastically. She smiled.  
"You might want to go back to sleep now, don't forget you've got training later on today." I groaned, and Raven smiled. "Don't worry, no contact training, probably working on your balance and speed." I nodded.  
"Sounds good." Raven smiled.  
"Now, get back to sleep, I feel like doing the same." I smiled.  
"Will do." I rolled over to turn the alarm on my black box on, and when I went to turn the small lamp on the other side of me off, Raven was asleep, and snoring lightly. I smiled, and hit the light switch. I rolled onto my back, closed my eyes and fell asleep.

When I woke up, not to my surprise, Raven was gone. I immediately checked my blackbox and discovered a message from Raven.  
"Morning Lena. I had to leave early this morning; hopefully you're feeling better. Training today will be, for your benefit, back in Pool Area 4. Just make sure you're ready to do a bit of climbing in and out of pools, a few small sprints and a bit of training that will help your balance. I'm not telling you anything else, just make sure you're in Pool Area 4, and ready to swim by 1:45 this afternoon. I should be back by then." The message cut off and I flipped the lid of my blackbox closed. I rolled onto my back, and then onto the floor. I landed on my feet, and to my surprise found my boots cleaned, my swords cleaned and put back in their sheath and my coat cleaned as well and hanging on the back of the door. I shoved my feet in my boots, grabbed my swords and carefully hung each of them in their sheaths across my back, and pulled my coat on, and the collar up to hide my blades handles. I grabbed my blackbox, clipped it onto my belt and left the room. I walked towards the kitchen, intending to get some decent food, but I got distracted on the way there. I noticed Wing and his friend Otto talking mutedly, heads together and staring intently at Otto's blackbox. I shrugged and walked off, now just wandering, not aiming for anywhere in particular.

It was 1:30 when i started making my way back to my quarters. I scanned my palm, and stood back while the door opened. I wasn't watching where I was going, because I was thinking. I was too preoccupied that I misjudged the distance between the sharp corner of the bed and myself. The middle of my shin rammed into it, and I cursed, rubbing my shin. My thoughts were momentarily forgotten when I head a quiet bleeping sound from my blackbox. I flipped it open and saw Raven's head, waiting for me to respond.  
"Oh, hi Raven. What's up?"  
"Nothing, I'm just checking that you're OK and on your way to training." I nodded.  
"Yeah, I was leaving in about a minute." Raven nodded again.  
"OK."

"See you at training." I nodded, and closed my blackbox. I grabbed a towel and bathers and walked out of my quarters. I hid in the shadows near the door to my quarters, and waited for a group of Alpha's to pass me. One looked back, but before they could be sure I was there, I was gone.

I walked into the pool area, not paying attention again, and so I didn't see Raven standing there.  
"Lena." She said, raising her eyebrows.  
Oh! Yeah... So what exactly are we doing?" I asked, looking around.

"Were working on balance." And with that said, she pushed me gently but I was still distracted, so I fell backwards into the pool. I made a grab for Raven's hand, but she stepped to the side and avoided my last ditch attempt. I sunk to the bottom of the pool, and pushed off. I surfaced, coughing and spluttering.  
"What the hell?" I screamed at Raven.  
"Get out of the pool." Raven seemed as angry and frustrated as I was. I pulled myself out of the pool quickly, not wanting to have any more pain inflicted on me. Raven passed me my katana's but before I had gripped them properly, she swung, aiming for my torso. The end of her blade slammed into my ribs, and I took a step back, winded, wincing and coughing. I looked at Ravens calm, controlled face, and I got angry. We were now graceful blurs, the only the sound of our swords clashing together. I took every opportunity and lunged aiming to inflict the same pain on Raven as she had been putting me through. Raven was quicker though, and more balanced because I was fighting out of pure anger, and she was fighting with more skill then me, and she was calm too. She swung her blade again, and it hit my wrist, and once again I felt it crunching. My fingers automatically lost their grip, and I dropped my sword. She kicked it aside, and swung again. I ducked as it whistled through the air near my shoulder, and I rolled, recovered, and ran towards my sword. I picked it up, and my anger flared. I started to fight harder and more viciously. Suddenly, Raven performed an unexpected low sweep kick and swept me off my feet and onto the floor. I landed hard on my side, on my aching ribs. I rolled onto my back, and tried to get as much oxygen into my lungs as possible. She looked down at me, sprawled on the floor, panting heavily.  
"New lesson. Control your emotions. Anger doesn't help. Never does, never will. Leave all thoughts but the current behind, and focus on the fight. It's not about strength but about balance." She paused briefly. "I don't know what is wrong with you today, but you would never make this kind of mistake any other time. I trained you better then that." Raven turned on her heel and walked out of the room. Her words sliced me like a knife. The anger inside me welled up and overflowed.  
"Like you never made a mistake!" I shouted angrily. I had made her angry, and she yelled back just as loud as I had to her.  
"When in this kind of business, a mistake can cost you your life. Many people have made that mistake and they no longer have the ability to breathe. Dismissed!" She turned and paced out of the room, muttering to herself and shaking her head.  
I was shaking uncontrollably, and I just lay there on the floor, waiting for it to stop. I stayed motionless on the floor for a long time, barely noticing the time passing. The room got colder and colder, and soon I was shivering from the cool water still on my skin from the pool. I rolled onto my side, looking for my towel, but I accidentally rolled onto my sore ribs. I turned back immediately, and rolled to my other side. I saw my towel a few metres away, soaking wet because I had it in my hand when I was pushed into the pool. I didn't make any more efforts to move, even though I was still shaking and shivering. I couldn't tell if it was from coldness or anger, but I stayed still. I heard someone walk in, but I made no effort to hide myself or figure out who was there.  
"Lena? Lena are you here?" I didn't respond. I heard footsteps searching around the room, and they slowly came closer. A figure walked into my line of sight, but i made no movement.  
"Oh, Lena! Are you OK?" I recognised the voice, but it wasn't Raven's. I pulled myself into a sitting position, still shivering, and squinted until I focused on the person. It was Wing. I didn't know why had been searching for me He handed me a towel, and I took it, rubbing my arms, face and body down. He offered me his hand, and I grabbed it, and he pulled me up.  
"Lena, you need to go back to your quarters. Warm up and get some rest." I didn't respond.  
"Lena, look at me." He stopped me, and spun me around. "Raven wasn't trying to hurt you. She is trying to help you. OK?" I nodded. "Raven is in Doctor Nero's office, so now is you chance to go and calm yourself down. He let me continue walking, but picked up something off the ground.  
"Your katana's." I grabbed them, and sheathed them. Wing smiled at me.  
"Go and get some rest, and calm down. OK?" I nodded again. He rubbed my shoulders and then let me go. I walked slowly back to my quarters, and went in. I had a warm shower, and sat on my bed. I had stopped shivering, but I lay down on my bed and pulled my covers over me. I closed my eyes, and for the first time ever, I dreamt. I had nightmares all night about when my parents were murdered and how I could do nothing about it. That was why I had trained to become an assassin.

_I was falling, into blackness, from blackness. I couldn't stop myself falling, until slowly, a picture, a memory came into view. I saw the sun; it was nearly at its peak, almost directly overhead. I looked down and saw three people, a man, a woman and a child, playing on the swing set in a park. I watched as the child smiled, and the dad was laughing from behind, pushing the small child higher and higher. Suddenly, there was a silent bang and the woman, who was off to my right collapsed, and the man yelled__  
__"NO! SASHA!" the man left the child swinging, and ran over to the woman who was bleeding profusely from a wound in her chest. Suddenly, another bang came out of nowhere, and the man collapsed, next to the woman. The child screamed.__  
__"Mummy! Daddy!" she tried to stop swinging, but her legs were too small to touch the ground, her body too small to reach her dying parents. She had to sit there and watch as her parents were murdered in front of her. I fell to my knees, and screamed like the child. I clutched my head, and tried to block it out, tried to get back to reality. I couldn't though, and I sunk back onto my haunches. _

_I had just relived the last memories I had of my mother and father before they were killed._

**A/N: Yep, I'm leaving you all with a cliff hanger, just 'cause I can :) . So, I know this chapter is absurdly long, but I had to make up for not adding anything for ages :)**

**Hope you all liked it.**

**-ScottishLaura**


	8. Just Another Authors Note

Hi guys!

I'm so, so, so very sorry that I haven't updated anything in ages… And to come with excuses – I've been extremely busy with my exams/upper school stuff and my Grandma has been in and out of hospital. So yes. I will work very hard to update something soon, but in less then 3 months, school will be finished for the year, and I'll have no excuse for not writing. So if I haven't updated in another 3 months, bug me until I do! :)

You guys are awesome!

-Scottie


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